November Unemployment Rates By State

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Impressive to see that the unemployment rate actually dropped in 43 states AND Washington DC. Four states were flat and the same states are pulling up the rear (CA, NV and DC).

One thing to keep in mind here is that unemployment rates dropped faster than the rate of actual jobs being added. Here's how the unemployment rate is calculated:

"The unemployment rate is calculated based on people who are without jobs, who are available to work and who have actively sought work in the prior four weeks. The “actively looking for work” definition is fairly broad, including people who contacted an employer, employment agency, job center or friends; sent out resumes or filled out applications; or answered or placed ads, among other things. The rate is calculated by dividing that number by the total number of people in the labor force." - WSJ 12/02/2011

So while it was nice that there were jobs found, these declines are just as tied to the number of people dropping out of the job search, so don't get too excited. Not trying to pull a Debbie Downer here, just offering some perspective.

If you have a job, I think you should feel pretty good about that. If you have a job you like/love, you should feel damn great about that.